Syringes are commonly used both to inject medications into patients as well as to obtain specimens of body fluids such as anaerobic blood samples. Often the tip of the syringe needle needs to be sealed. For example, once blood has been drawn into a syringe and removed from the patient's skin, the needle tip is commonly sealed immediately to prevent air contamination and then placed in ice pending subsequent laboratory examination and analysis of the blood sample. The needle tip has commonly been sealed by injecting it into a cork stopper. This tip sealing method has not worked well due to the difficulty of injecting the needle into a small cork with one hand while the other hand applies pressure to the skin injection site of the patient. Sealing has also been attempted into silicone filled caps. This too has not worked well and indeed is not often done.
Today there are substantial dangers associated with the use of syringes to obtain body fluids. For example, the syringe users sometimes prick or inject themselves by accident due to difficulty of sealing the needle tips with one hand otherwise occupied. Where such occurs there is a possibility that a serious disease may be transmitted from the patient to the nurse or other medical personnel using the syringe. Thus, in attempting to seal the tip of a syringe needle as by injecting it quickly into a cork stopper the needle may slip and puncture the skin of the nurse thereby possibly transmitting a disease.
Therefore, it is seen that an improved device and method for sealing syringes is needed today. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.